Get in the Park!
Parks have been around for as long as people have thought to designate some green space for tossing around a ball or spreading out a picnic blanket. With obesity rates on the rise and a continued stress-equals-success attitude, these havens of leisure are more important than ever. A new study conducted by the RAND corporation […]
Monotasking: One Thing at a Time
How often do you start reading something—an article, a story for school, an email—and jump to something else—another article, a text, or your Instagram? Some people call this multitasking while others say it’s distraction. Long before everyone became equipped with devices, the world was becoming increasingly busy. Consistent attempt at making things “easier”—two cars instead of […]
City-wide Eco-Efforts
Two years ago, btw brought you some facts about the history of Earth Day. This year, we recognize the holiday with a look at the efforts of some cities across the country toward becoming more environmentally conscious while keeping costs (to both businesses and taxpayers) reasonable. San Francisco, California As a large coastal city, San […]
Explaining the Panama Papers
Earlier this month, confidential files from a law firm called Mossack Fonseca were made public. The documents, collectively called “the Panama Papers,” were leaked by an anonymous source to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), who shared them with various news organizations. This week, btw breaks down the basics, offers a comparison of other […]
Read My Lips* – Talking Taxes
It’s that time of year again, when people scramble to get receipts and tax returns to accountants (or the numerically-savvy), and numbers and letter combinations like “W2” and “1040” enter casual conversations. In recognition of Tax Season, btw takes a look back at some history of taxes in the United States. New Nation, Old System […]
The Fierce Urgency of Now: Obama In Cuba
It’s been more than a year since btw brought you news of President Obama’s announcement of the U.S. foreign policy shift regarding our neighbor, Cuba. Last month, the president and his family made a three-day visit that marked the first time an American president has set foot on the island in nearly 90 years. (The […]
Happy 100, National Parks!
Last year, more than 305 million people visited a national park or monument across the U.S. Made up of a collective 84 million acres, they are the National Park Service (NPS), a federal agency tasked with both preserving the land and making it accessible to visitors. In honor of its 100 years, we take a […]
Home From Space!
Last year, btw brought you news of the launch of the longest-ever consecutive space mission. The two-man mission was made up of Russian Cosmonaut, Mikhail Komiyenko and American Scott Kelly. They were gone for nearly a year (340 days), traveled a total of 143,846,525 miles (circling the earth 5,440 times), and return-landed via parachute in […]
Gravitational Wave Discovery: 100 Years in the Making
Perhaps you’ve heard news about the discovery of “gravitational waves?” About how a team of scientists discovered the sound of two black holes colliding a billion light-years away, and how that discovery confirmed renowned physicist Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity? In case you don’t know what any of this means, this post is going to give you […]
Black History is American History
For the first time in history, more than half of children born in America (according to the 2012 US Census Bureau) are minorities. As the “collective minority” becomes the majority, we will surely see a shift in how we view our history. The History of “Black History” Carter Woodson was a black historian who earned […]